"Greatness is not inherited. It must be guided."
---
Titans Tower, Midday
The T-shaped tower glimmered in the sun, casting its shadow over Jump City Bay. Inside, chaos reigned.
"Garfield, I swear—!"
Raven's voice echoed through the common room as Beast Boy, in koala form, clung to her cloak.
"C'mon, Rae, lighten up! You're, like, the gothest person in three universes."
She stared flatly. "And you're still somehow alive."
Blue Beetle chuckled from the couch, holographic screens flickering around his gauntlet.
"Yo, B, you might want to stop. The last time she twitched like that, I had to repair the microwave."
Starfire floated above them, radiant and elegant, humming as she braided her hair. "You humans have the most curious ways to bond. Physical endangerment seems… affectionate."
"Yeah," Nightwing muttered, entering the room with a datapad. "Until somebody ends up in the med bay."
The door opened again, and Damian Wayne strode in — cape flicking dramatically, scowl locked in place.
"Are we truly wasting time while criminal networks grow? Pathetic."
Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Oh great, here comes Captain Sunshine."
"Say that again." Damian growled, unsheathing a tiny blade.
Before Nightwing could intervene, a soft hum rolled through the room — a resonance so low and pure it made the floor itself vibrate.
The argument died instantly.
The Arrival of King
The Tower's sensors flickered. Blue Beetle's armor twitched. "Uh… guys? Somebody just appeared outside the tower. No zeta-beam, no ship, just... boom... there."
Starfire tilted her head. "Appeared?"
"Like... teleported from reality itself."
Before anyone could respond, the tower doors hissed open.
He entered.
King.
No cape, no armor. Just a plain shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow. His presence alone shifted the air; his existence had weight.
Damian's hand went to his sword out of instinct. " You're here?"
King looked at him, eyes calm, unreadable. "Yes, I am."
Nightwing stepped forward, composed but wary. "The League said you'd be coming. They didn't say when."
"I prefer not to schedule my arrival."
Beast Boy squinted. "Dude, are you serious right now? You prefer to be mysterious?"
King looked at him and somehow, without any hostility, that single glance made Garfield's words falter.
Starfire, sensing the shift, descended gracefully. "You are… the one who moved mountains in Gotham?"
King nodded once. "And burned away its fog."
Blue Beetle whistled low. "No offense, man, but… that sounds like a PR nightmare."
King unshouldered a small satchel and placed it on the table. When it opened, the room lit with the glow of raw volcanic gemstones — unnaturally pure, still warm to the touch.
Raven's eyes narrowed. "You mine those?"
"I dig them up by hand. The earth tends to yield when you know how to ask politely."
Beast Boy blinked. "You… talk to the ground?"
"No." King said simply.
A Clash of Wills
Nightwing crossed his arms. "You're here as an advisor. Not to take command."
"I didn't come to lead, that's your job." King replied, " I'm here to make sure you all don't die young."
Damian bristled. "I need no protection."
King turned to him, gaze steady. "You need humility. It's a rarer skill."
The boy's hand twitched toward his sword, but King's stare alone froze him. Not fear — pressure. The kind of presence that made the body remember what surrender felt like before the mind could argue.
Starfire placed a hand on Damian's shoulder. "He means no insult."
"I don't," King said quietly. "I mean truth and truth is rarely gentle."
Nightwing exhaled, half amused, half exasperated. "You're gonna fit right in."
The Test
Beast Boy whispered to Blue Beetle, "So, what's he do? Like, shoot lasers? Punch mountains? Lecture criminals to death?"
King heard him. "The last one's closest."
Garfield snorted. "Yeah, right."
"Prove me wrong." King said mildly. "Attack."
Everyone froze.
Nightwing frowned. "This isn't necessary—"
But Beast Boy had already morphed into a rhino and charged.
King didn't flinch, didn't move
The floor cracked. The rhino skiddled to a halt as King grabbed Beast boy by the horn with his two fingers.
Blue Beetle's armor pinged. " How are his bones still intact."
" Simple." King said. "Just intent."
Raven's eyes glowed faintly. "You didn't reinforce yourself with magic."
"Magic? No." King said. "Just balance."
Starfire looked on with fascination. "You fight as though gravity itself obeys you."
King shrugged lightly. "It tends to, if you've fallen enough times."
The Weight of His Words
Later, on the Tower's balcony overlooking Jump City's skyline, Nightwing and King stood side by side.
"You're different from the others," Nightwing said. "Even Batman keeps a moral leash on his power."
King's gaze stayed on the horizon. "Because Batman is still fighting fear. I stopped fighting long ago."
Nightwing folded his arms. "You don't believe in limits?"
"I believe in purpose. Limits only matter to those who fear what they'll do without them."
Nightwing was silent for a long time. Then: "You sound like someone who's lost too much."
King smiled faintly. "Or someone who's found enough."
Behind them, laughter drifted faintly from the tower — Beast Boy trying to arm wrestle Blue Beetle, Starfire teasing Damian about "human stubbornness," and Raven quietly sipping tea by the window, eyes half-focused on King through the reflection.
The New Arrival
As night fell, the tower's alarm pinged softly.
A small transport pod was approaching from the mainland.
Nightwing glanced at his communicator. "That'd be our new recruit. League recommendation. Name's Tara Markov."
King turned his head slightly toward the window, where the transport's thrusters burned gold against the darkening sky.
"Another one to protect." Nightwing said.
"No," King murmured, almost to himself. "Another one to save."
The camera lingered on Tara as she stepped out of the pod, nervous and eager — looking up at the glowing T in the tower.
Far above her, unseen, King's gaze followed her arrival — calm, knowing, as if he already sensed the storm her heart carried.
Read 26 chapters ahead on P.A.T.R.E.O.N
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